I reckon this Sunderland man is the unluckiest London Marathon runner in the race's history
Sunderland marathon man Les Arnott’s feet were killing him the day after a race 34 years ago - but not in quite the way he expected.
Les did months of training for the London Marathon but the big event went flat when a motor bike ran over his toe on the eve of the race in 1991.
The fish supper which had an unexpected twist
Les, who was club secretary of Sunderland Harriers, was staying with team members at a hotel in Hampstead on the Saturday night before the run.
To calm his nerves, he decided to pop out for a fish supper, but had his chips when he tried to cross a busy road.
He was making his way between two lines of stationary traffic when the bike appeared out of the darkness and skidded into him.
No choice but to pull out of the race
It left him nursing a badly swollen toe and a suspected broken rib and with no choice to pull out of the race. It robbed him of the chance to compete in his fourth London marathon. He said: “It was very disappointing because all my preparations had gone so well, my foot began to balloon up.”
Today he was back in Sunderland where he was due to undergo X-rays to check the damage.
But he hopes to be fighting fit to take part in the veterans race next year - traffic problems allowing